Report on the Impacts of NGO Aid in Camp Perrin

Partnership Between Northern Illinois University

&

State University of Haiti

Written by

Elkins VOLTAIRE

Under the direction of Professor Mark SCHULLER ,Ph.D

Port-au-Prince, July 2017

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Acknowledgements

2

Executive Summary 3

I. Introduction

II. Commune of Camp Perrin

a. Camp Perrin « A Different Place

III. Hurricane Matthew on October 4th-5th

A. Damage done in the Commune of Camp Perrin

IV. Methodology

a. Summer 2016

b. December 2016

V. Presentation of Data

VI. Considerations and Principal Findings

VII. Recommendations

Bibliography

About the author

Appendices

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

This work would not have been possible by ourselves. For this reason we are writing

this section to thank those who offered their participation in order to make this possible.

To start, we would like to say thank you to Professor Mark Schuller who oversaw this

research, gave his time, patience and advice and his name and also supervised and

edited the work. His contribution is incalculable because without his criticism, scientific

discipline and professionalism, this never would have happened.

We are continuing humbly to say thank you to the Department of Ethnology who

trained us within the framework of this research, University of Northern Illinois, U.S., that

was an important partner in this work, the colleagues on the research team, and in all

aspects the community of Camp Perrin: the mayor, the organizations, especially OTEB,

farmers, students, professors, motorcycle chauffeurs who drove us everywhere without

any danger or accident who were so patient with us and always available when we

needed. Friends who guided us, accompanied and helped facilitate the completion of

our tasks in the field. Nahim, Jonas and all others – we take off our hats to you. We

would also like to thank the owner of the hotel that welcomed us and gave us food that

gave us strength to do our work everyday. Fanny Villa and Auberge Mass Nord, you are

in our hearts and so satisfied by the welcome and care you gave us.

We cannot forget to thank the members of the population, which is the heart and soul

of this work. They received us with open hearts and made themselves available to talk

with us, share with us information, without the population we would not have all of this

quality information. To every person who agreed to respond to our inquiries, thank you

so much.

We would like to thank everyone again, but would not be complete if we did not finish

by thanking our family members who provided extraordinary support for us.

Thank you, everyone.

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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Hurricane Mathew is the last catastrophe that his Haiti, especially in the

Northwest, Sout and Grand Anse Departments on the day of October 4, 2016. In these

circumstances, in the same way as before, many local, national and international actors

responded. But was the real impact of this aid on communities? How did people feel

about the way actors treated them? In what way did community resources and

resilience capacity play a role in the face of a difficult situation after catastrophes?

These questions drove a group of students under the supervision of Professor Mark

Schuller to launch a big research project in the affected departments.

The data that was recorded and the analysis of this research assisted in

understanding many things: 1) Aid that came after Hurricane Matthew started to bring

changes in social life, 2) Aid changed human relations in the commune of Camp Perrin,

3) Aid started to develop a behavior of dependency and 4) The response that

humanitarian agents provided after the hurricane did not satisfy the population.

When surveyed, and asked to rate the different institutions out of 10, the

population gave local authorities an average of 2.46, the State an average of 2.02, and

NGOs an average of 3.58 showing us clearly the level of dissatisfaction of people.

Regarding NGOs, we can see clearly that after a catastrophe, the communication of

humanitarian agents or other actors (like the local authorities, State, NGOs) can

become more important than the aid that they bring.

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I. INTRODUCTION

Since the period of great conquest, where Europeans colonized a number of

territories in the name of religion, the world entered a new era1. This era is

characterized by pillaging, genocide and domination all people who were not European.

This continued with the establishment slave system. This resulted in the creation of a

mode of relations between one which said it was stronger, civilized and all others not

like them, they were called savages, and uncivilized, barbaric2 peoples. This created

unequal relations and brought about the divisions between the colonizer and the

colonized, north – south, rich countries – poor countries.

Since that time, despite all of the efforts of dominated countries coming form

slavery, other countries that are metropolitan or ancient metropoles continue to block

those efforts. They created concepts to eliminate everything, all characteristics/culture

they possessed, what Enrique Dussel called "occultation de l'autre." Relations between

peoples evolved greatly and took multiple forms, from neighborly relationships to taking

on an international dimension.

But with introduction of the concept of development in 1949, inaugurated in a

speech by U.S. President Truman, international relations took the shape that holds til

today, where the rapport between North and South took on another dimension, one

area which was a country that was developed, one that possessed knowledge,

economics, technology, health, etc. and countries in need of development had suffering,

hunger, the absence of technology, sickness, etc.3 With that definition, the United

States gave itself the mission to bring aid and develop these countries as if they were

always in that state. It is in this context of American hegemony that a number of

institutions were established like the United Nations, World Bank, International

Monetary Fund and many NGOs were birthed.

It in this context, as Haiti and many other countries in America and Africa receive

international aid either in response to natural disasters called humanitarian aid.

1 Tzvetan Todorov: la conquete de l’amerique: la question de l’autre ; ed. du seuil ; 2 Laennec Hurbon: le barbare imaginaire ; Ed. Henry Deschamps, Port-au-Prince, 3 Gilbert Rist: le developpement, une croyance occidentale ; ed. Presses de la fondation nationael des sciences, Pris, 2007..

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it is in the context of a natural disaster that hit Haiti that this study happened.

Once again, in the same way it happened frequently in last few years, a serious

hurricane passed on the 4th of October. This hurricane hit the areas of the South and

Grand Anse harder. It caused a lot of damage, and made the population in those areas

more vulnerable than they already were. Like in the past, many local actors, national

and international, mobilized to bring aid to those departments hit hardest.

This is the context that served as a pretext to conduct research in the Commune

of Camp Perrin in the South Department to better understand:

1) During the hurricane, how did solidarity show up in the Commune of Camp

Perrin

2) For us to see the level of resilience of the people and the resources that they

used in the face of the disaster.

3) What actions did the people take?

4) What new local leaders emerged in the humanitarian context?

5) Evaluate how the people viewed the aid that came and how did they assess

the work of the different humanitarian actors in the field

This work completed in the commune of Camp Perrin complements the research of,

« Exit Strategy: The Long-term Impacts of International NGO aid in Haiti ». It was a

collaborative research project between the State University of Haiti and Northern Illinois

University. This research was completed in eight areas in the country of Haiti, which are

Dabòn and Sayira in the West Department, in the Southeast in Bourdrouin and Marbial,

In the South in Camp Perrin and Port Salut, and in the Grand Anse in Pestel and

Abricots. This was an opportunity for us to follow-up on earlier research and gather

additional information that could aid us in understanding better.

On the NGO question, in Haiti’s case, there are a lot of people reflecting on this

question in the context of the name the Republic of NGOs. Sauveur Pierre Etienne, a

Haitian sociologist, discusses the invention. Haiti stays in a situation of a restavèk4

economic, where foreigners will provide hand-outs forever. This situation became more

4 Restavek comes from a French term rester avec. It is a child in Haiti that is sent by his/her parents to work in another household because they lack the resources to suppor the child.

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complicated after the earthquake on January 12, 2010 which took the lives of more than

300,0005 people.

It is under the direction of Professor Mark Schuller, an American anthropologist who

specializes in the question of NGO anthropology, that this research was completed

contributing to a wider study.

This report is divided into five larger sections which are:

1.- The first section will talk about the commune of Camp Perrin, as « a different

place », as well as the passage of Hurricane Matthew and the damage that happened

especially in the Commune of Camp Perrin.

2.- The second section will present the methods and tools that were used for the

research. It will discuss the field visits, observations, surveys and interviews conducted.

3.- The third section will present the data that we collected during the survey from

December 2016, while we make a few comparisons with the data collected from the

survey of Summer 2016.

4.- In the fourth section, there will be reflections on three hypotheses that we are

developing after all of the observations and information that we gathered. It is a partial

data analysis.

5.- The last and fifth section will conclude with a few recommendations.

II. COMMUNE OF CAMP PERRIN

This section presents the Commune of Camp Perrin, its history and a brief

discussion regarding the motto that people have when they talk about the region, which

is “a small isolated location”. We will also discuss the passing of Hurricane Matthew and

the damage it did on this Commune.

a. Camp Perrin: « A Place of Its Own ».

“Camp Perrin: A different place » (yon ti kote apa) is a slogan for this commune

that you might hear, and is written when you first enter the commune in the South

Department of Haiti. Why is it a different place? What does it mean? Before we try to

5 IHSI, recessement par estimation, 2019

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respond to these questions, we would like to present the Commune of Camp Perrin

before.

Camp Perrin is found in the South Department in the arrondissement of Les Cayes. It

is found between the city of Les Cayes and Duchity which is in the Grand Anse

Department. It is 133.77 km2 and the population is 40,9626. It is divided into three

communal sections. It possesses a number of touristic and historic sites like Saut

Mathurin (waterfall), Grotte Kounoubwa, the Davzac canal built during colonial times

and its fountain, workshop/training schools, Camp Perrin epi Larivin Disid. It is important

for us to note that the commune carries the name of a French officer who created a

military camp to protect his plantation. The military base had the name Camp Perrin,

which became the name of the town. Many of the neighborhoods carry the names of

ancient colonizers like: Lamatinière, Davezac de Castera, Moreau etc.

A long time ago, Camp Perrin was a commune that had a special reputation as a

region that had a lot of trees and water. Before it became a commune, it was a

neighborhood of Les Cayes that was natural site covered with trees, an ecological

monument, a place where if one needed to contemplate the marvels of nature, they

could go7.

These were the ansers that residents gave when we asked the question, why is Camp

Perrin a different place? For many, the response is based in the history of the town, the

beautiful tree coverage, agricultural production, and the touristic sites it possesses. But

others go further than those reasons. The put first, the cleanliness of the town,

especially Upper Camp, the number of schools in the commune, the number of people

6 IHSI, recensement par estimation, 2009. 7 https://fr.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Camp-Perrin, consulté le jeudi 9 mars 2017 à 11h00

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who go to school and the level of education of the people. It is true that is a commune

with a lot of schools, that are known by many, that has the best school in the Mass Nord

and always has students who perform well on the State exams.

In the case of our research, we observed these things as interesting and very

significant in this town. We went a few times to the town, the shortest visits were two

days. In the summer of 2016, we passed two months and then in December of 2016 we

passed eight days. Before those visits in 2016, there were a few things that were

interesting that we observed: we never saw a child barefoot or naked on the streets, I

never had someone approach me to ask for money or other items, many young and old

folks were intermingled, we saw a lot of youth who would go to the school in the

morning and then would be moto taxis in the afternoon or during vacation, and there

were others who were working in small business/enterprises, or working restaurants.

We could give an example of Mass Nord where we were, where there are a lot of kids

in school, that work during the vacation so that they could have money. We did not see

houses made of Pay (straw). Almost all of the houses had either corrugated metal

sheets or concrete for roofing. Those are indicators for me that the economic leve of

people is not bad, and people with a lot of independence and pride. Also, there were not

a lot of NGOs working in the commune and the State is not that present in terms of

actions.

. When we recognize that NGOs like to be in the areas where is more misery, their

absence says a lot about the people’s socioeconomic status. We found a lot of people

who stated that NGOs when they come, they don’t stay because there isn’t a reason for

them to stay, those people are not in need.

Now, how is after Hurricane Matthew passed? Did the situation stay the same? What

changed? Before we respond to these questions, we will talk a bit about Hurricane

Matthew, the damage it caused and the consequences it had on this commune.

III. HURRICANE MATTHEW ON OCTOBER 4-5

The people of Camp Perrin did not call it a Cyclone (siklòn), but more frequently

referred to it as “the weather” (tan an). I never questioned why they referred to the

hurricane (siklòn) in that manner, but I can say that ever region in the country of Haiti,

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people have a style of speaking and vocabulary that is different to say certain things.

Even if the vocabulary is different, they are talking about the same thing like: tchentchen

or Mayi moulen (corn meal or polenta).

Regarding this question, I should say that a lot of areas in the country, like in the

Northwest where they use the word tan when there is a lot of rain falling and it won’t

stop « tan bouche » and with a lot of wind, or you can hear them say « gadon tan », and

maybe it is along these lines also, that people in Camp Perrin use the word TAN to talk

about hurricane Matthew.

Matthew, was a category 4 hurricane, that hit the country of Haiti, especially in the

South and Grand Anse department on the 4th of October at around 7 am. The winds

reach 230km/h, and the heavy rains cause flooding, landslides (more than 600 mm in

less than a day) and the storm tore trees from the roots, and tore the roofs off houses,

leaving them naked. The areas by the ocean, like the city of Les Cayes, Port salut,

Cown Island, the Grand Anse, etc, the ocean rose an estimated two to three meters.

More than 8008 people (according to Frans TVin or 8779 according to Radio Canada)

died in the country, and other sources in the West of France who said more than 100010

people; but according to all, 80% of the gardens/farmlands were damaged or destroyed

in the South Department.

a. Damage done to the area

We did find official numbers regarding the damage that the hurricane caused in the

Commune of Camp Perrin. We contacted the Municipal office but they did not have a

detailed report regarding the damage while we were conducting the study, but we were

in contact again after and there was never a report that was prepared. We are going to

attempt to describe what we saw after Matthew. When you pass 4 chemen (a well-

known intersection just outside of Les Cayes) going in the direction of Camp Perrin,

passing the airport, after a few kilometers on the asphalt road, you can see the nearby

gardens and trees in the nearby plains. Before Matthew, when you passed the

8 Mobil.francetvinfo,fr/meteo/cyclone-ouragan/ouragan-matthew/ouragan-matthew-haiti-la-grande-urgence_1862263.html, consulté le jeudi 9 mars 2017 à 12h03 9 Ici.radio-canada.ca/nouvelle/807464/Haiti-bilan-ouragan-mathhew-aide-humanitaire-croix-rouge 10 www.ouest-france.fr/catastrophe/ouragan/ouragn-matthew-haiti-le-bilan-atteint-les-1-000-morts-4549488/amp

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intersection to enter Matinyè on the road the leads to Hotel Le Recul, there are two

paths, one to pass Matinyè that would enter the center of Camp Perrin or you could

pass a mountain where there is a pond below on a road called Route Nèf.

In those two cases, either if you pass Rout Nèf, when you are higher, it is difficult to

know that Camp Perrin was close to you because there were a lot of trees that covered

all of the surfaces and even houses that were close by you could not see. When you

entered the commune, there were areas that if you did not go, you would never know

there were people living there because the trees blocked the view of the houses. Camp

Perrin before Matthew was like a beautiful negrès (black woman) dressed in her finest

with a beautiful straw hat with her hair flowing down her back. But after Matthew, it had

a different face, and it was with great shock when we were entering. We saw the

commune was naked, it was undressed, the trees that represented her clothes were

practically not standing, and those that were had not leaves, like a fire had passed. All

the areas that you could not see before, you now could see without binoculars or even

glasses. The village was like a woman undressed, all her hair ripped off.

It was with much distress, that we saw it was hard to find a tree to protect from the

sun if it wasn’t under a house still standing. The face of the town was distressed. On my

way, there were only a few concrete houses that were still standing, but there was

practically not a single corrugated metal roof that remained on a house, and others

made in wood that fell. A lot of people reported that they lost their gardens, animals, and

other things they had. Almost no gardens were still standing.

I was struck by sadness, when I entered Mass Nord. The yard which once was a

small paradise because of the number of trees and the diverse types of fruits, it became

nothing with almost all of the trees downed, the roof of the school gone, the yard

unrecognizable. It was with a lot of emotion that I lived this experience. When I

continued, the roof of the church was gone, a lot of other schools had also lost their

roofs. When i visited Saut Mathurin (waterfall), there were practically no trees at the top

of the waterfall, you barely needed to arrive to know what had occurred below.

Regarding infrastructure, the small electrical grid was damaged still in December

when we were there. People reported that there was no power after the hurricane even

thought they did not there were some technicians working on the poles or the grid.

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Where there were other routes, you needed to do a lot of gymnastics to arrive. The

roads were really damaged and a large crack in the canal Davzak, an irrigation canal

that was there from colonial times.

But we must emphasize, that life continues. We noticed that some of the local

organization were cleaning the debris in areas such as Piko and Kpol. So we can

describe the board's cloudy this that Matthew left the commune Kanperen. It is this

manner, that we can describe this somber image that Matthew left in the Commune of

Camp Perrin.

IV. METHODOLOGY

This study is a long study that started before summer of 2016. It includes a number of

steps like a number of field visits, registering GPS points, observations and surveys

including one that lasted eight weeks during the summer of 2016 and another in

December 2016 after Hurricane Matthew. To complete this study, we combined a

number of methodologies. We combined qualitative and quantitate methodologies.

Before we discuss all of the techniques and tools we used to gather information for this

study, we are going to touch on two important phases in the case this study.

a. Summer 2016

From June until August, the team was deployed to the field. I was in Camp Perrin with

an American colleague. It is important for us to note that we had already made a

number of visits to the field to make the first contact, and then a second visit to register

GPS points after we received a training on observation methodologies on the physical

aspects of the area, economic and cultural activities, habits, etc. Then, a third time we

went to test our tools to see if they were well adapted, so we conducted a presurvey on

January 10-15 of 2016, and a fourth time for us to coordinate logistics, which prepared

us to go for eight weeks into the field, which prepared us to go for eight weeks into the

field from June 17 – August 8.

During those two months, we administered 100 questionnaires and five interviews.

We became integrated in the lives of the community which helped us to understand the

social structure, kinship structures, habits and observed many social functions and

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phenomena. Also, along those lines, we noted the NGOs that were present and the

activities in which they were engaged since we were looking for answers to the question

of aid impact and NGOs.

We also worked in the first and second communal sections of Camp Perrin including:

Matinyè, Masan, Levi, Anwo kan, Anba kan, Bananye, Bwèt, Mawo, So matirin, Maslin,

Nan Jon, Piko, Kpol, etc.

This survey allowed us to gather good information and data regarding how the

commune was before and after Hurricane Matthew.

b. December 2016

This is what I am calling the second phase. We went, for the first time, to the field for a

an exploratory visit that lasted two days from October 29-30, 2016. During this visit, we

made observations regarding the damage that was done by Hurricane Matthew, on the

changes in the environment and a few interviews with some of the local authorities like

the mayor or important leaders in the commune of Camp Perrin. It was an interesting

visit because it allowed for us to see, and listen to the opinions of people regarding aid,

how they lived through this event, how they felt, how they viewed tomorrow, etc. This

visit allowed us to shape a clearer idea of how to shape the tools to prepare for the

survey after Matthew. It was after that, we returned to the field for five days. The work

was to administer the questionnaires, conduct interview, and make observations. In this

context, we administered 25 questionnaires during those five days and held two focus

groups.

We worked with a questionnaire that contained 50 questions. Amongst those

questions, the first 31 were closed questions, and the other 19 were open-ended. For

those questions, we recorded the answers. After we finished gathering the information

in the field, we entered the responses into excel.

This allowed us to pick a mosaic of data within the framework of this investigation

where we used direct observations, participant observation, questionnaires with both

open and close-ended questions, as well as interviews with open-ended questions with

some community leaders. This process began before 2016, but systematic investigation

was launched last summer 2016 through December 2016.

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VI. DATA PRESENTATION

1. DATA PRESENTATION

Now we are going to present some of the data we collected during the summer of

2016 and in December 2016. We are going to present the data from the summer before

win order to show how the situation was before hurricane Matthew and then

December’s data after in a way that will allow us to see what changed.

1.1. Data from Summer 2016

This first Table speaks to collaboration within the commune. With this we can see 67

out of 100 people said « yes » that people in the area do collaborate/work together, 12

people said « no » the people in the area do not collaborate, and 16 stated « it

depends », this would indicate that there are situations when they work together, while

other situations where they do not. Also, there were two people that said

« sometimes », and three who did not respond to this question.

TABLE 1: DO PEOPLE COLLABORATE IN THE

COMMUNE?

Response Quantity

Yes 67

No 12

Depends 16

Sometimes 2

No response 3

Total 100

Summer Survey 2016

When we asked people in a more general sense, do Haitians work together, 66 said

“yes” Haitians to collaborate, 29 said “no” Haitians do not collaborate.

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TABLE 2: DO HAITIANS COLLABORATE?

Response Quantity

Yes 66

No 29

No response 5

Total 100

Summer Survey 2016

Table 3 speaks about the relationship between people in the area. This shows us that

81 people said « yes » people in the area get along with each other, and only four said

« no », 10 said « it depends », and two said « sometimes », and three did not respond

or said they did not know.

TABLE 3: DO PEOPLE IN THE AREA GET ALONG?

Response Quantity

Yes 81

No 4

It depends 10

Sometimes 2

No response 3

Total 100

Summer Survey 2016

Table 4 focuses on the confidence people have in each other. It allows us to see

that 65 people said that they have confidence in their neighbor(s), there were 20 that

said that they did not have any confidence in their neighbor(s), 11 said “it depends”, and

four that did not respond to the question.

TABLE 4: DO YOU HAVE CONFIDENCE IN YOUR

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NEIGHBOR(S)?

Response Quantity

Yes 65

No 20

It depends 11

No Response 4

Total 100

Summer Survey 2016

In the area of collective activities in the area, almost everyone stated there are

collective activities in the area. (Table 5)

TABLE 5 "DO YOU SEE COLLECTIVE ACTIVITIES IN THE AREA?"

Response Quantity

Yes 93

No 4

No Response 2

Total 100

Summer Survey 2016

The people in the population identified some needs/concerns in the middle of many

others that were more urgent to the area. In Table 6, we see in the needs that are more

urgent for people is “work” with 19 people citing it first, after, it is the road with 14 people

citing it, and health has four people, after three people cited power, water, and food. We

can say that a large number did not respond or said they did not know.

TABLE 6: WHAT NEEDS/CONCERNS APPEAR TO BE MORE URGENT

IN THE AREA?

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Response Quantity

Work 19

Road 14

Health 6

Power/Electricity 3

Training/Farming support 3

Food 1

Water 1

Flooding 1

Other 9

No response 43

Total 100

Summer Survey 2016

More than three-quarters, or 85 people amongst them believed that those

problems can be resolved, and only seven who believed they could not be. This is

detailed in Table 7.

TABLE 7 DO YOU THINK THOSE PROBLEMS CAN BE

RESOLVED?

Response Quantity

Yes 85

No 7

No response 8

Total 100

Summer Survey 2016

When asked if local authorities could resolve those problems, Table 8 shows us

that less than a half, or 42, amongst the people believe local authorities can resolve

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those problems. More than half or 52 amongst them believe that the local authorities

cannot resolve those problems and are shown in Table 8.

TABLE 8: CAN LOCAL AUTHORITIES OR THE STATE RESOLVE THOSE

PROBLEMS?

Response Local

Authorities

State NGOs

Yes 42 56 65

No 52 37 23

No response 6 7 12

Total 100 100 100

Summer Survey 2016

When we asked if the State could resolve those problems, we see that 56 or

more than 50% believed the State can resolve those problems. When asked about

NGOs, 65 people state that they believe that NGOs can resolve those problems more

than the local authorities or the State.

TABLE 9: DO YOU SEE NGOS WORKING IN THE AREA?

Response Quantity

Yes 39

No 57

No response 4

Total 100

Summer Survey 2016

In the short conversations we had with people about NGOs, we found that 39

people only said that they see NGOs working in the area, more than 50% said they do

not see NGOs that are working in the area. Table 11 gives a better idea of this.

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TABLE 10: HAVE YOU RECEIVED SUPPORT FROM

NGOS?

Response Quantity

Yes 12

No 23

No response 65

Total 100

Summer Survey 2016

Amongst the people that responded to this question, we see 12 who said that

they received support from NGOs that work in the area, but more people, 23, stated

they had not received any support at all from NGOs in the area. (Table 10)

TABLE 11: DO NGOS BRING SOLUTIONS FOR THE

AREA?

Response Quantity

Yes 26

No 56

No response 18

Total 100

Summer Survey 2016

In Table 11, more than 50% amongst the people, or 56, state that NGOs do no

bring any solutions for the area, and only 26 said “yes”, NGOs bring solutions for the

area.

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TABLE 12: SHOULD NGOS STAY IN THE AREA

Response Quantity

Yes 64

No 11

No response 25

Total 100

Summer Survey 2016

There were 64 people, as indicated in Table 11, who believed NGOs should stay

in the area, and only a small number who believed they should leave.

TABLE 13: DO YOU HAVE CONFIDENCE IN LOCAL AUTHORITIES,

THE STATE OR NGOS?

Response Local

Authorities

State NGOs

No 69 19 50

Yes 22 75 35

No response 9 6 15

Total 100 100 50

Summer Survey 2016

In Table 13, regarding the question of confidence in local authorities, the State

and NGOs, we can see that there were more people at 69, who have confidence in local

authorities, which is greater than the confidence in the State or NGOs. We also see,

that it is the State that received the least confidence with only 19 people with NGOs in

the middle of where people allocate their confidence.

1.2. Data from December 2016

After we finish presenting the research done in the summer 2016, we are presenting

the results from the research in December 2016.

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TABLE 14: SPIRIT OF SHARING AFTER THE HURRICANE

Response Share with Neighbor(s) Neighbor(s) Shares with

You

Yes 24 20

No 1 5

Total 25 25

Survey December 2016

Regarding welfare amongst the people in the community after the hurricane, we can

see that 80%, or 20 people said « yes » that they found people share with them and

96% or 24 who said « yes » they share with others too. We see more people who said

they share with others because others share with them.

Table 15 presents the needs of people in the commune of Camp Perrin who

participated in this research. In this list, we put a focus on needs that people said are

their priorities.

TABLE 15: LIST OF NEEDS PEOPLE HAVE IN THE COMMUITY

Need Number of times cited

Road 17

Power/ Electricity 14

Food 14

Potable Water 13

Work 11

House/House Repair 7

Training/Farming Support 7

Health/Hospital 7

Corrugate Metal Sheets (roofing) 5

Professional Schools/Schools 4

Cleaning 3

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People who represent them well/ good

leadershp

2

Library/Space for Intellectiual Debate 2

Reforestation 2

Conscience 2

Security 1

Money 1

Survey December 2016

To be more accurate, we are listing every need that was cited by the 25 people

who participated in this research, and the needs were cited multiple times. Therefore it

is not possible to show a total. When you look closely, it is the road with 17 people that

is cited the most amongst the participants, after it is power/electricity and food who both

were cited 14 times, after it is potable water with 13, 11 who stated work and

training/farming support, health/hospital, and house/house repairs, all three were cited

by seven people. All the others were less cited.

When we ask people to state the needs that are more of a priority for them in the

commune of Camp Perrin, the Table below allows us to see that health/hospital is at the

top with 14 voices, after it is corrugate metals sheets and food that both were cited 10

times each, and work and professional school after with 8 people. In other words, in the

moment of Matthew, these are the needs that became priorities. When we compare the

list in Table 16 with that of Table 6, that are from the two surveys from the summer and

December, we see that people’s priorities changed.

In the summer, it was the road that was cited by 19 people, with work being cited

by 14, and power/electricity with six voices, while in December it is health/hospital,

corrugated metal sheets, and food that became the top three priority needs. Although

the needs from the two research surveys remain similar, it is clear that the priorities

changed.

TABLE 16: AMONGST NEEDS WHICH ONE HAS BECOME A

PRIORITY?

Priority After Matthew Number of times cited

Health 14

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Food 10

Corrugated Metal Sheets 10

Work 8

Professional School 8

Training/Farming Support 8

Road 7

Library 5

Space 3

Water 2

Power/Electricity 2

Good representatives 2

Cleaning 2

Conscience 2

Securit 1

Survey December 2016

We are detailing every need that was cited by the 25 participants, and therefore it

is impossible to total the numbers.

TABLE 17: CAN THOSE PROBLEMS BE RESOLVED?

Response Quantity

Yes 23

No 2

Total 25

Survey December 2016

It is only two people, representing eight percent that believe those problems

identified in Table 15 and 16 cannot be resolved, with a larger number of people at 23

or 92% who believe those problems can be resolved.

TABLE 18: ARE LOCAL AUTHORITIES, THE STATE, NGOS, OR OTHERS

CAPABLE OF RESOLVING THOSE PROBLEMS?

Response Myself or

Neighbor

Local

Organization

Local

Authorities

State NGOs

Yes 18 15 18 11 15

No 7 10 6 12 10

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No response - - 1 2 -

Total 25 25 25 25 25

Survey December 2016

There were 18 or 72% who responded “yes” that they themselves and their

neighbors could resolve those problems with seven who said “no” they could not. There

were 15 (60%) that believe that local organizations cold resolve those problems with 10

(40%) who believed they could not. Then, there were 18 (72%) people who believed

local authorities could resolve those problems, and at a smaller percentage of 44 or 11

people who said that the State could resolve those problems. A larger number of

people, or 12 (48%) said that the State could not resolve those problems with two or

eight percent who did not say anything. Lastly, 15 people or 60% believed NGOs could

resolve those problems.

People consistently added, when they were responding to those questions,

whether if it was regarding collaboration/working together or endorsing local authorities

or the State, many amongst the participants believe that collaboration/working together

can accomplish a lot and change the community where they are living.

TABLE 19: LIST OF ACTIONS THAT PEOPLE TOOK AFTER THE HURRICANE

Actions Number of times cited

Cleaning (road, canals) 10

Cut trees, unblock the road, cleaned people’s yards

9

Turned their homes into temporary shelters 8

Saved people in danger 6

Shared (food, clothing) 5

Paid a solidarity visit 4

Surveyed 3

Survey December 2016

It is important for us to appreciate how people in the area did not remain dumbfounded

in a difficult situation they and their neighbors were living in the moment of Hurricane

Matthew. They took many actions (Table 19) that showed important solidarity like

welcoming people whose homes were damaged into their homes, sharing food and

clothing, supporting each other, and rescuing those in dangers or that are handicapped

or elderly. These gestures are strong and show the solidarity that exists in the

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community. I remember a simple gesture that a friend told me, a group of youth and

mixed with adults decide to make tea for shock (sezisman11) and walked around

distributing to people in their area that were in shock. This appears to be a simple

gesture but it is extremely significant that people using traditional knowledge were

helping others in a difficult moment, paying solidarity visits, that is a new element in

those situations. In other words, the community is very dynamic in crisis moments,

which also explains why people do not like to just sit and wait like they are kids without

the will or capacity.

TABLE 20: ACTIONS TAKEN BY LOCAL ASSOCIATIONS

Organizations Action(s)

G30 - Gave metal sheets - Cleaning

- Cassaverie

A few youth groups created for the occasion

- Cutting trees - Saving people in difficult situations

during the hurricane - Made efforts to find aid

-

Local Red Cross - Gave potable water

Scouts - Saved people who had water in their homes

OTEB - Cleaning - Gave metal sheets

- Gave seeds

Project St. Anne - Metal sheets - Wood and other construction

materials - Participated in school repairs

Survey December 2016

Local organizations acted in their own way and in the ways their capacity allowed

them. They participated in cleaning, moving people, and finding other houses for those

11 It’s considered an illness in Haiti, when someone finds out about bad news or lives in a traumatizing situation, and this makes someone disoriented and expresses itself in psychosomatic illness where the person feels sick

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who had lost their homes. There were also some who were able to give sheets of tin,

seeds, wood and participated in the reconstruction of the school. Table 20 allows us to

see which actions they took and which local organizations took the action. We would

like to continue to say, it is possible that due to limited resources they do not have the

capacity to do anything on a large-scale and others may not give these actions

importance or even know about them. The question of reinforcing the capacity of local

organizations is an important one. If they are reinforced or given the means to take

actions it would allow in the moment of a crisis or natural catastrophe that there are

more possibilities for a quicker response, more efficient and closer to the their areas.

TABLE 21: ACTIONS TAKEN BY THE LOCAL AUTHORITIES

Authority Action(s)

Municipal/Mayor’s office - They passed and talked - Conducted an assessment

- Did a few distributions - Gave water

- Cleaned

Senator - Provided a tractor to clean the road and canals

- Gave food

Candidates - Brought food - Cleaned

- Gave health kits and metal sheets - Gave the resources to clean

Survey December 2016

More than half, 14 out of 25 people said they did not see anything the local

authorities did, except to either take incoming aid and put it in their houses, or that they

were not sure there were local authorities in Camp Perrin, or they are very passive and

waiting the same as the population.

But some cited some actions of local authorities like passing and talking to people,

conducting assessments, some water, food, metal sheet distributions, and cleaning. But

it is important for us to point out that these actions were not done in collaboration, it was

a series of interventions done in isolation. (Table 20)

TABLE 22: ACTIONS TAKEN BY THE STATE

Action Number of times cited

Gave metal sheets 2

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Water 2

Food 2

Evaluation visit 1

Survey December 2016

The question regarding what people saw or knew of in terms of actions by the

State after Matthew, we found only one person who said that the State paid a visit to

evaluate the level of damage, two people who cited the State gave metal sheets, water,

and food and the rest of the people said either they did not see the State, or the State

didn’t take any actions, or they did not respond at all. (Table 21)

It is important for us to consider the actions that the population said that NGOs

took after Matthew. This is detailed in Table 22 and 23, the actions NGOs took and

which NGOs. This does not reflect the entire experience of the population but of those

who participated in the survey.

TABLE 23: ACTIONS TAKEN BY NGOS IN THE FIELD

NGOs Action(s)

Save the Children - Food and sanitation kids - Gave tarps

- Work - Conducted assessment

- Distributions - Gave food kits

- Gave aquatabs and oral serum - Helped the school with roofing

- Gave houses - Assisted kids - Gave buckets

- Cosmetic products

PROTOS - Food - Sanitation kits

- Tarps - Work

Haiti future - Gave food kids - Helped the school with roofing

- Gave houses

Survey December 2016

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There were 11 people or 44% who provided those responses. There were 14 or

56% who did not respond to this question because they did not see what NGOs were

doing. The population cited the name of three NGOS that they saw, remember or knew

that took action and the sector in which they worked. Those three NGOS are PROTOS,

Save the Children, and Haiti Future. Table 23 allows us to see better what concerns

NGOs that were already in the community before Matthew.

TABLE 24: ACTIONS TAKEN BY NGOS AFTER MATTHEW

NGO Action(s)

- Food, Health kits

CECI - Gave food - Gave money

- Reparired houses

- - Passed and marked houses - Took names

- - Gave rice aid - Metal sheets

- Gave food cards

OXFAM - Gave food - Gave money - Hygenic kits

UNICEF - Bay manje - Bay Kòb

Spanish and Dominican Red Cross - Gave food - Gave disinfectant

- Installed a water bladder for treated water

- Gave hygenic kits

Samaritan’s Purse - Gave rice and oil

CSI -

Survey December 2016

There were 13 out of 25 that represented 52% that said NGOs either came by to

take names, mark houses for them to repair, made promises and then they were never

seen again, or what NGOs were doing they could not see, or others didn’t respond at

all. There are some spots in the table where there are no names because the actions

were remembered but the name of the NGO was not. But the population stated these

actors came after Matthew.

TABLE 25: WERE THE ACTIONS TAKE EFFECTIVE?

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Response Population Local

Organizations

Local

Authorities

State NGOs

Yes 24 14 5 3 7

No - 5 15 13 13

No

response

1 6 5 9 5

Total 25 25 25 25 25

Survey December 2016

In the survey, 96% or 24 said that the actions they themselves took were

effective, in other words useful. Another 14 believed that the actions of local

organizations were effective, less than half, and five people believed the actions of local

authorities to have been effective and with more than half stating that they were not.

Only 12% or three people said the actions of the State were efficient, and more than

half at 52% or 13 said that they were not effective or did not exist at all. Also, seven

people believed the actions of NGOs were effective while 13 thought the contrary.

TABLE 26: DID YOU RECEIVE SUPPORT FROM NGOS?

Response Quantity

Yes 3

No 20

No response 2

Total 25

Survey December 2016

There was 80% or 20 amongst the people questioned who said they did not receive or

have not yet received anything from NGOs: from those present before Matthew, nor

from those who came after Matthew. Only 12% representing 3 people said that they

received some aid (kichòy, highlighting food aid. See Table 26). Citing these numbers,

we can say that most people did not benefit from aid that arrived in the commune.

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TABLE 27: DID EVERYONE IN THE AREA RECEIEVE?

Response NGO BEFORE MATTHEW NGO AFTER

MATTHEW

Yes 1 0

No 21 23

No Response 3 2

Total 25 25

Survey December 2016

In addition 84% said that not everyone in the area received aid from NGOs present

before Matthew. An even greater number noted that not everyone received aid from

NGOs present after Matthew. No one said that everyone received aid, and 23 people,

92%, said not everyone did with two people not responding.

The average note that the population gave the entity providing response after Matthew

in Camp Perrin.

TABLE 28: THE AVERAGE NOTE THAT THE POPULATION GAVE THE ENTITY

PROVIDING RESPONSE AFTER MATTHEW IN CAMP PERRIN

Actor NGOs The State Local Authorities

Average score from

1 to 10

3.58 2.02 2.46

Survey December 2016

In our study we asked people to give each entity a rating from 0-10 according to how

they judged the work done. Each person gave a score as we had asked. We took these

scores and calculated an average on Excel. So we can observe that the State had

lowest average score, the worst grade, followed by local authorities.

2. CONSIDERATIONS AND PRINCIPAL FINDINGS

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In this section we emphasize the study findings that we found most striking. First we

discuss some considerations about some of the tables from December 2016. Then we

will report three main findings among many others, which involve several aspects of the

data that we have collected, supported by the people’s own analyses in the recorded

interviews.

2.1. Considerations about several tables

Table 16 presents people’s needs and priorities after Hurricane Matthew. We found that

the priorities changes. In the summer, the priorities were:

1) Work

2) Roads

3) Health

We can say that the tendency was reversed after Matthew:

1) Health

2) Tin for roofs / food

3) Professional schools and support for farming

It’s clear that the priorities changed. We know that during natural disasters like

hurricanes, large segments of infrastructure are damaged and the health situation of

people becomes more complicated, all the planters lost their crops, livestock and other

goods. People are in other words decapitalized. So it’s understandable that priorities

change, and that’s precisely what happened in Camp-Perrin after Matthew. We also

found several new needs such as housing, roof materials, and cleaning up that weren’t

present in the summer but they have become concrete and immediate needs as a direct

result of the weather event. We can see that primary needs in the context of a disaster

become more important than other, long-term needs. Therefore, the social and

economic contexts changed, and priorities changed as well.

Matthew’s passage didn’t change people’s sharing practices (Table 14). In summer

2016 93 out of 100 reported sharing and 92 out of 100 reported others sharing with

them. Following Matthew, things didn’t change: 24 out of 25 (96%) people reported

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sharing with others, an even higher statistic than before, and 20 out of 25 reported

others sharing with them. Respondents also reported that people in the community

regularly are united and Haitians also get together to resolve problems (Tables 1 and 2).

We see that in this difficult time during Matthew, this solidarity still existed, and it was

even reinforced during the time of the disaster. In a community where people can count

on one another, this is an important resource that can play a big role in how they face a

series of challenges and solve problems. When the community is closely knit, this

reinforces resilience and helps people feel more secure, more a part of society.

Following Hurricane Matthew, this mutual aid with people sharing with one another

represented a major strength, with people able to better face the weather event and

more quickly get back on their feet. This is good, during times of crisis people in the

community band together; this is an important resource.

Concerning humanitarian actors, we think that the way that actors intervene in moments

of crisis, natural disasters and others, needs to change, like many other people such as

Mark Schuller12 and Michel Julien13 argue that humanitarianism needs to revise its

strategies. It’s clear that the ways it is executed don’t bring about good results. This

research supports what has already been said. The responses about the effectiveness

of the actions of humanitarian actors, and whether they received aid or not, is some

proof that shows that aid doesn’t work or succeed.

This data helps us reflect about how NGOs act in the field. It is difficult to understand,

that NGOs come to help people, whereas many of them say they didn’t receive anything

or don’t even see anything. This is difficult to comprehend. Where did the aid go? Who

did it pass through if the people concerned didn’t receive it? How was the distribution

managed? Many other questions can be asked. We don’t take people’s interviews to be

the Bible, and as researchers our job is not to judge, but 14 people out of 25 people

said that, each from a different area.

2 Mark Schuller, Humanitarian Aftershocks in Haiti. New Brunswick: Rutgers University Press. 2016. 13 Michel Julien, Impacts des interventions des ONG en Haïti: nécessité d’un nouveau cadre de partenariat, Haiti perspectives, volume 1. N02. Eté 2012.

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This statistic likely stems from a lack of information circulating about the work each

actor is doing in the field, certainly NGOs, or possibly from the lack of training of field

staff or their lack of professionalism. It can also be true that a census is not distribution.

During censuses humanitarian actors are there to collect information, which does not

mean that a distribution will happen. In this case if there’s not a good explanation, it is

understandable that people can interpret it that way: if they count my house there will be

a distribution. It’s also possible that people are truly waiting for aid or truly believe that

NGOs = aid, they don’t want to give information. It’s also possible that a lack of trust or

ill will leads some to give out false information to force people to take. All of these

scenarios are problems that require careful thought. If any of these are true this can

lead to frustration and even render them resistant to anyone coming to the field. I

personally have experiences this (ref Table, 24, 25, 26).

Many people reporting that NGO actions weren’t effective gave these reasons among

several others:

• Aid is badly distributed

• They don’t give with the population really needs, and they don’t try and find out

the population’s real necessities

• What they gave wasn’t enough

• Those in greatest need weren’t the ones who received aid: the truly vulnerable,

and the individuals who lost a lot of their resources were not the main

beneficiaries. It is as if the aid distribution was done unjustly.

Other people also believed that:

• There wasn’t enough

• Distribution was badly done

• Distribution was done according to people’s personal connections

• Local authorities absconded with the aid or gave them to their friends

• There weren’t many NGOs in the field;

The community didn’t just sit on their hands. They acted in the ways they could. When a

community has the capacity to use internal resources to confront a situation it’s a big

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thing. When people spoke of the actions they took, you see and feel a certain pride. I

find this very positive. I remember a respondent who recalled how she saved a person

with disability, and it is as if she was a ‘hero.’

This feeling of satisfaction, and the feeling that they have done something useful for

others, is an important aspect regarding how people can manage a traumatic situation

like the hurricane can mobilize to act. It represents an energy source that can help them

climb the hill and better address all their difficulties. Therefore this reinforces people’s

resilience.

For people who believe that local authorities can solve these problems, they say that

they don’t want to, they don’t have the will. This is not the first time we have heard this

language, but it demands reflection. We can say that in a sense it can be a lack of will in

the sense of when authorities have the means, how do they use it? What do they aim to

pose as actions with what little they have in their hands? Because you might not have a

lot, it’s better to try and do something, so that people can see that you did something,

rather than not do anything at all if you don’t have enough. People will continue to say,

there’s a bunch of people who only see their own pockets; if they saw collective

interests there was a lot of things they could do. But people who don’t believe say that

it’s a bunch of idiots who are leading, who can’t see past the nose on their face. And

even if some had good intentions they don’t have enough means to resolve the

problems by themselves. This is a finding because many people reported several cases

where authorities took the Matthew aid to their houses, or shared it with their family and

friends, and because of this, in people’s minds, this is true of all authorities. In other

words, the problem of corruption is not only in the head of the state but all over. But in

reality, not all are corrupt. To conclude we can say that it’s also true that local

authorities can’t resolve these problems by themselves.

2.2. Aid that arrived developed a behavior of dependency in the middle of the

population

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There are not very many NGOs that work in this commune and the State is not very

present in terms of actions. Regarding this question, in the survey that was conducted in

the summer of 2016, we found these numbers that included 45% of the population that

believed local authorities could resolve the problems of the th 60% believed that the

State could resolve problems, 74% believed that NGOs could resolve problems.

When you isolate those numbers, it appears that people are not very self-reliant, but

when you ask them if people from the area can resolve their problems 92% said yes. It

indicates that people have the will to contribute to the development of their community,

but they may not have the means. It may be the reason they feel frustrated when they

are just receiving without being included in actions. It is not in every area of the country

that people want to get things for free, without breaking a sweat, I believe that this

commune is an example in the middle of many others wants to stay autonomous. We

need to underline that it is not that don’t have needs or need the support of others or

foreigners but they do not want to remain passive. They believe in collaboration, in their

own strength and own work. But after Hurricane Matthew ravaged the community, this

autonomy looked like it was wanting to disappear.

For the same question in the survey in December of 2016, we found that 72% of

the people believed that they and their neighbors if they collaborated could resolve

those problems, also 72% believed that local authorities could resolve them, 44%

believed that the State could resolve them which is less than from the summer

indicating faith in the state had diminished. In addition, 60% believed that NGOs could

resolve them, which is lower than the summer also indicating less faith in NGOs

capacity.

What would explain the decreased faith in the State and in NGOS and the

increase in confidence in local authorities? This would require digging deeper. Change

that was happening in the social fabric could be one of the elements that explains those

variations. In the moment of a catastrophe, it is possible for people to attempt to

balance some ideas that they had before because the context changed.

Phsychologically, a catastrophe can create trauma and this can awaken a whole series

of other ideas that were asleep. Automatically this can happen, people and their

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perceptions regarding some things are changing, in addition to one’s relationship with

oneself, while the environment and institutions are changing as well.

A lot of people that we questioned stated:

«People that came did not want to look for work, they preferred to leave their

activities so that could follow where distributions were happening»

We find that once a person who is not from the area appears with a purse or

folder in hand, then you have a lot of people that pass asking:

«Are you taking names?”

or

«Don’t forget to add my name.14».

If we remember during and right after the weather events, I am referring to the way

people referred to the Hurricane in the zone, we could say that there were a lot of

actions which were taken to save people and to unblock the road, but the week after,

things changed. When you asked people what actions local associations were taking,

almost everyone responded in this manner:

« No actions. They are waiting to see what is going to be brought for them to

distribute »

After the hurricane, those elements show that there was a type of social mutation

that began where people were developing a dependency on humanitarian aid and even

had a person state that Camp Perrin is no longer a different place2.

I can not say if this talk is a different after the hurricane, but I believe that the

image people had regarding their commune began to change with a lot of changes that

were happening on multiple levels especially at the level of their environments. This

dwindled perspective came more after hurricane Matthew, and you could see on

people’s faces despair, embarrassment, lacking esteem, and nostalgia when they were

talking about how the commune was in the present and how it had been before. Also,

people’s pride dwindled, political issues in the commune, and dissatisfaction regarding

the leaders they have and hurricane Matthew contributed to this decreased pride. So,

14 This is a reference to the practice of taking names and adding to a list of people who can benefit from aid.

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the slogan a different place did not really resemble how things evolved beginning before

Matthew and was reinforced after Matthew.

5.2. The population was not satisfied with how agents managed distribution

It is clear that those numbers indicate that people were not satisfied at all regarding the

response after Matthew. Therefore they were not satisfied with the interventions of the

State, nor the local authorities, nor the NGOs. The small difference that was present in

the numbers, were some were worse than others, and we see that it is the NGOs that

are less bad. What this seems to indicate is that the population was a bit more satisfied

with the work of NGOs over others. Those numbers were similar to what people said

whether it was the State, local authorities or NGOs and reinforced each other. In point

5.2 in the report, you will find more details on this question of dissatisfaction

It is true that many questions were raised about this aid called humanitarian aid

treated people, and how they brought aid and what they brought. In Haiti, especially,

people are always saying that in all things you must have a sponsor. In other words, you

must have your people. In the commune of Camp Perrin, after the hurricane, a lot of

mouths were shut and heads bound regarding how the aid was organized and how it

was distributed. We are going to attempt to give a few numbers that can help us to

understand the dissatisfaction of people. When you ask people, what score you would

give local authorities, the State or NGOs regarding how they managed the aid they

brought after Matthew, the scores they received were: NGOs scored 3.58/10, local

authorities scored less than NGOs receiving a score of 2.46/10, and the State even

lower receiving 2.02/10. We can state that not one of them passed or came close to the

score of 10. Also, NGOs were scored higher than local authorities and the State. In all

of this, it is the NGOs that were the least bad and the State that was the worst amongst

them.

The conversations with people can help us better understand what the numbers are

saying. When we asked people how they would evaluate the response that came after

Matthew here are some of the responses we found:

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«I could see that it was good in one area because people who did not have

received. In another area it was not good because it was people who were not

in need that received. There were people who received and created a

business, selling the aid.»

«I evaluate it at zero, because there should be some instructions15. When they

say they are coming to help people it is always partial. If you are giving you

are supposed to do that for everyone without looking at their faces.”

«Don’t have a response because neither the State, NGOS, nor our local

authorities brought anything that we saw.”

These responses give an idea regarding how people understand the aid that was

brought for them and also the level of their satisfaction. It is true that there are some

that believe the contrary like those who stated:

«I could see that it was good in one area because people who did not have

received. In another area it was not good because it was people who were not

in need that received. There were people who received and created a

business, selling the aid. »

People provided a lot of cases that they saw, which led them to their analyses.

They saw a series of people that had nothing from before the hurricane and that

became more vulnerable after and even in these conditions aid does not reach them. It

seems to be the tendency that people who had the means to live and were not that

affected by the hurricane were the ones receiving aid. They are not talking only about

themselves but everything that they see in their direct environment.

People mostly said that it was based on appearances (that you ‘looked like a victim’)

and to their people that distribution was done, like these people among the following

who continued in the same sense, that said:

«Even if they brought aid, we did not receive it. Peasants that lived in the

mountains did not receive it, even those in the middle of the town, we did not

15 In other words, making resources available to them so they can produce themselves and evolve themselves.

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receive any. When the hurricane was coming they did not send cards but for

you to find something it is sponsors (marenn ak parenn). In addition, it’s not

good if you had to get up because of being hit by a stick.»

Neither the State, nor local authorities are included in this category. Besides the

people believe that is them that are the head of the chaos and a few other people who

are responsible for the NGO distributions. The statements made regarding the State ad

local authorities are significant along those lines. Remember local authorities scored

2.46/10”

« They fought more and did not take care of anything.»

« until today we have still to see someone ask us what we brought »

For those who were commenting about the State here are a few statements:

«The State did not do anything at all.»

« it was the same thing for the State. There really isn’t a State authority that

took anything into their charge. You could see that it was the Grand Anse that

benefitted more. Here, no one from the state looked at us. »

For NGOs that scored 3.58/10:

« NGOs did not circulate into all of the corners, because they do not have

agents. When a commune is destroyed that is when they put agents into the

different corners, on all of the mountain tops to see how the population is

living, and how peasants are functioning. Because peasants are under trees,

under small places when the rain falls. We did not see NGOs, their

interventions were not efficient.”

There you have a series of declarations that translate the frustrations and

dissatisfaction of people. People added that it was by looking at people’s faces they

selected the people who would receive aid. When an NGO agent passes, they look at

you and according to what they see they decide if you merit aid or if you do not merit

aid. One victim said the following:

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«When they came, they did not give anything because they just looked and

they told those people that they were not in need and I believe that they did

the same in a lot of places. It is something that is not good.”

So in other words, for you to receive aid, you must have the face of a victim. When

they look at a person’s face it must be one marked with misery, to ‘look like a victim’,

dressed shabbily for them to decide to give you so more of the people resembled

people who looked like they were in need, a face that is marked with “I am in need” has

more possibility of receiving aid or fulfilling the conditions to find aid. This is something

that is very serious. It is as if they are encouraging people to make no effort to help

themselves, instead you should wait for an extended hand to provide. It is as if they are

indirectly encouraging parasitic behavior, slavery in their homes.

To end, to remind of what people said that aid did not circulate in all areas. There

were a lot of places that people have still not received anything at all. Only people came

by and took their name, made promises and they never saw anyone return to tell them

anything.

This helped us to understand that the physical presence of people and talking was

making people feel like they existed, making them feel like people, and that they were

not thrown away or forgotten completely. This gave the possibility for them to express

what they were feeling and what they wanted. Therefore the physical presence of actors

establishing contact with the population and talking to them directly is an important

aspect in humanitarian interventions or in urgent situations. We can also say, that this

communication can become more important than the actual aid given. Because when

you give people attention and recognition, it is amongst the needs to feel that they exist

and that they are important. Because when you give someone something but they feel

as if they are not treated as a person, what you bring becomes of little significance

because one of humans’ first needs is to be recognized and treated as important.

5.3. Everything after a catastrophe, humanitarian agent communication can

become more important than aid

Frequently when there is a natural catastrophe, humanitarian actors and the State

give priority to distribution of aid materials like food and other things. Many times, they

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do not take the time to understand the real needs, what are necessities for people.

Instead it is according to what they think is a priority to give them, but it is not according

to what people would say they need as a priority. This happens often, where what is

thought and what is really needed is vastly different. Every area has particular strengths

as well as needs, and they don’t take the time to create a good relationship with people

and establish a good line of communication. The statements of a lot of people Camp

Perrin enabled us to understand that good communication amongst actors that are

intervening with the population can make a big difference even if you don’t have

anything to give. Many and almost all stated that:

« They would pass and see us at least, and we felt as if we existed »

«If they only passed to see us, even if they did not bring anything, we would

say to God thank you ».

Presence and communication that can create a sense of this type of security

and this type of existence. When we speak about communication, we want to say that it

is to use every means possible and that is available to inform the population: radio,

loudspeaker, sound truck, neighborhood meetings, banners, etc. and establish a good

direct or indirect line in a way that allows for them to express their needs, their priorities,

their frustrations, their ideas, the way they understand things, their propositions in

community meetings, survey, focus groups, door to door visits, neighborhood

committees, meetings with organizations, with leaders, going by church, where there

are cock fighting rings, Vodou ceremonies, etc. It is these things that I am calling

HUMANITARIAN COMMUNICATION.

Also this translates into people’s desire to not remain in a child-like position and

for them to be brought things without being able to express what they want or what they

need. People believe, that even if they are being aided, they should have input. Besides

in Haitian culture, when a person is receiving and are only receiving, this creates a

feeling of embarrassment, he/she feels bothered16; even if if it is an elderly person

he/she still wants to take care of his/her affairs without other people knowing. So to sit

and wait for things to come makes the population uncomfortable, and creates a lot of

frustration, it is their rights that are violated and they take it as an injury to their

16 Marcel Mauss (2011): Essaie sur le don, HEC, Paris.

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dimension as a human, and as if they are demeaned as humans. What is harder in all of

this, is that what is brought for them is not only in bad conditions, it is also not what is

priority or a true need.

So it would be important that institutions bringing aid for people in the moment of

natural disasters are provoked to establish good contact amongst people, learn to listen

so that they can identify the real needs and make people feel as if they are really

concerned. This is valuable for local authorities, the State and for NGOS too. After all of

the data I collected, after all of the voices of the population, I believe that this makes a

big difference.

4. RECOMMENDATIONS

In order to formulate these recommendations, I am taking the words people gave as

responses when we asked them what should be done. According to them, here are

some of the recommendations they made:

4.1. Regarding the question of dependence, actors who come to help are

supposed to:

4.1.1. Don’t be content with just giving to people only, this can create or reinforce the

dependency. After the urgent period plan ahead for well-structured projects in

sanitation, environment, etc. where the population can participate or even as

volunteers or to work in order to contribute to changes and find anything for them

to function.

4.1.2. Try to reflect with local organizations, neighborhood committees, the ideas and

the ideas concerning projects can help in their areas. This can diminish the

dissatisfaction that was present and come closer to expectations

4.2. Regarding the question of dissatisfaction

4.2.1. Go to all of the mountains to know how the population is living and the needs that

are more urgent for them. Conduct a comprehensive assessment on the damage

and the priority needs of people in every area. This is valuable for not only the

State, and local authorities, but also NGOs.

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4.2.2. Provide what is being given with a sense of order and in respect and dignity.

Distributions can be organized in a way that a kit is prepared for a family, rather

than have people come and get it, to pass by their homes and give the kits.

When you do this you are able to mark every house that has received a kit

already and identify every family that has already received. People reported that

Red Cross did this with water and it was done well. They came by with a water

truck, and in front of every house they stopped, they had people bring something

to hold the water and they would fill it for them. This provided more transparence

and made people feel like they were people. Also, even if everyone did not

receive it caused less frustration because they saw that some people received

aid. This we talked about in point 4.2 regarding frustration that people gave a

clear idea this point and table 11 shows the level of people’s dissatisfaction too. If

they do not have enough to give everyone, do not include everyone - if there is

10 people that you are able to give and people see that you are doing something

for 10 people. Because when people are left waiting and they don’t’ see anything,

a situation of dependency grows, as well as frustration.

4.3. Communication

4.3.1. NGOs should find honest people, people that the population are confident in, that

has a good name in the area to manage aid on the group and to keep authorities

informed even if they have their flaws. It is people in the area who can tell you

who they trust either in a neighborhood assembly or in a survey. It is an exercise

of this sort that we did in our survey because it was they who knew the people

and every area has a notable/elder. This is what makes communication with the

population or with organized structures vital before interventions because they

should not become overwhelming, and needs to take local knowledge into

account. This may be difficult directly after an event, but it is possible a few days

after.

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4.3.2. Get out and don’t just in the office and function alone. They are supposed to go

and see families so they don’t feel like they have been forgotten, or neglected

because what they feel, their ideas, and their presence are important.

4.3.3. Try to find the people who are more in need and ensure that they are reached

first so it cannot be said that aid workers are only looking at the faces of people,

to see if you’re poor enough to deserve aid. This can be completed with a good

field survey, observation, and visits can allow you to find that information.

4.3.4. Lastly, it is important to go and see people and to establish good communication

that permits people to express how they feel, their needs, their priorities, before

decisions are made to bring them things. Even after the urgent period this is

important.

So this is the work we did in the field. We present the commune a bit, we talked

about hurricane Matthew and the damage that it did. Even if we did not have numbers

for Camp Perrin, we presented a lot of information that we found in the field. We picked

some of the data to analyze in addition to observations that we made based on what

people said, and we proposed some solutions that could be useful.

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BIBLIOGRAPHY

1. Bartolomé de las casas: Très brève relation de destruction des Indes; éd. La

découverte, Paris, 1996.

2. Bernard Hours, « Les ONG: outils et contestation de la globalisation », Journal

des anthropologues [En ligne], 94-95 | 2003, mis en ligne le 22 février 2009,

consulté le 01 avril 2013. URL: http:// jda.revues.org/1941

3. Enrique Dussel, 1492, l’occultation de l’autre, éd. Des ouvrières, Paris, 1992.

4. Gilbert Rist: Le developpement, Histoire d’une croyance occidentale, éd. Presses

de la fondation national des sciences, Paris, 2007.

5. Jean Anil Louis-Juste: ONG: ki gouvènman ou ye, ed. ASID, Port-au-Prince,

2009.

6. Laënnec HURBON, Le barbare imaginaire, éd. Henry Deschamps, Port-au-

Prince.

7. Sauveur Pierre Etienne. Haiti: l’invasion des ONGs, Ed. CIDHICA, Port-au-

Prince, 1997.

8. Tzvetan Todorov, La conquête de l’amerique: la question de l’autre; éd. Du seuil;

1982.

WEBOGRAPHY

1. IHSI, recensement par estimation, 2009.

2. https://fr.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Camp-Perrin, consulté le jeudi 9 mars 2017 à

11h00

3. Mobil.francetvinfo,fr/meteo/cyclone-ouragan/ouragan-matthew/ouragan-matthew-

haiti-la-grande-urgence_1862263.html, consulté le jeudi 9 mars 2017 à 12h03

4. Ici.radio-canada.ca/nouvelle/807464/Haiti-bilan-ouragan-mathhew-aide-

humanitaire-croix-rouge

5. www.ouest-france.fr/catastrophe/ouragan/ouragn-matthew-haiti-le-bilan-atteint-

les-1-000-morts-4549488/amp

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Elkins VOLTAIRE was born in the Northwest province of Haiti. He is completing a masters in

Development Sciences at the Faculté d’Ethnologie in the Université d’Etat d’Haïti. He

completed a BA in psychology. He has several years of humanitarian work experience as a

psychologist. He participated in several scholarly research with several institutions such as Sant

Egalite, UEH, New York University and Northern Illinois University. He is a member of the

Haitian Studies Association (HSA). He is very active in social causes with organizations he leads

such as CHRIPPES (Centre Haïtien de Réflexion, d’Interventions Psychosociales et de

Promotion à l’Épanouissement de Soi) and ADN (Aktè Dinamik pou Devlopman Nòdwès), or a

member such as Asosyasyon Ayisyen Sikoloji elatriye, MENORHA (Mouvement des Étudiants du

Nord-Ouest pour la Réhabilitation d’Haïti).

His research foci include children’s rights and development, corporal punishment and children’s

psycho-social development for his BA thesis. He is researching NGOs for his MA thesis;

community resilience and social representation.

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Appendices

Survey Questions – Summer 2016

Depatman: Komin:

Seksyon Kominal/ Katye:

Dat: Lè: Siyati: Non:

A. Prezantasyon moun kap viv nan zòn nan ak relasyon ki genyen antre yo.

1. Depi kilè w rete bò isit? How long have you lived here?

2. Kijan w wè evolisyon zòn nan? How do you see the area evolving?

3. Èske moun nan zòn sa konn fè tèt ansanm?

Do people in this area get together/ unite?

4. Èske nan zòn bò isit moun byen youn ak lòt?

Are people in this area on good terms with one

another?

5. Èske ou gen konfyans nan vwazen / vwazin w?

Do you trust your neighbors?

B. Rezo sosyal moun nan

6. Tanpri ban mwen non 3 moun ki pi pwòch w nan zòn nan?

Please name three people you feel closest to.

7. Pou premye moun nan, Se kijan w rankontre avèk li premye fwa?

For the first person, how did you meet this

person?

8. Chak kilè nou kwaze? How often do you meet?

9. Èske ou konn pataje manje avèk li? Do you share food with him/her?

10. Chak kilè? How often?

11. Èske li konn pataje manje avèk ou? Does he/she share food with you?

12. Chak kilè? How often?

13. Si w gen pwoblèm, èske w ka konte sou li?

If you have a problem, can you count on

him/her?

14. Pou dezyèm moun nan, se kijan w rankontre avèk li premye fwa?

For the second person, how did you meet this

person?

15. Chak kilè nou kwaze? How often do you meet?

16. Èske ou konn pataje manje avèk li? Do you share food with him/her?

17. Chak kilè? How often?

18. Èske li konn pataje manje avèk ou? Does he/she share food with you?

19. Chak kilè? How often?

20. Si w gen pwoblèm, èske w ka konte sou li?

If you have a problem, can you count on

him/her?

21. Pou twazyèm moun nan, se kijan w How did you meet this person?

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rankontre avèk li premye fwa?

22. Chak kilè nou kwaze? How often do you meet?

23. Èske ou konn pataje manje avèk li? Do you share food with him/her?

24. Chak kilè? How often?

25. Èske li konn pataje manje avèk ou? Does he/she share food with you?

26. Chak kilè? How often?

27. Si w gen pwoblèm, èske w ka konte sou li?

If you have a problem, can you count on

him/her?

CH. Lidè zòn nan

28. Se kijan ou fin konnen nouvèl? How do you get news?

29. Se kiyès wap tyeke pou konnen sak pase nan zòn nan?

Who do you seek out to find out what’s

happening in the area?

30. Depi gen yon pwoblèm nan zòn nan, se kiyès ki kapab rezoud li?

When there’s a problem in the area, who can

resolve it?

31. Dapre ou menm, ki pi gwo bezwen nou nan zòn nan?

What do you think the three most pressing

needs in the area?

32. Èske pwoblèm sa yo kapab rezoud? Can these problems be resolved?

33. Kijan? How?

34. Èske otorite lokal yo kapab rezoud pwoblèm sa yo?

Can the local authorities resolve these

problems?

35. Èske leta kapab rezoud pwoblèm sa yo?

Can the state resolve these problems?

36. Èske ONG kapab rezoud pwoblèm sa yo?

Can NGOs resolve these problems?

D. Relasyon moun nan avèk ONG

37. Èske w wè ONG kap travay nan zòn sa yo?

Do you see NGOs working in the area?

38. (si wi) Ki ONG? (if yes) Which NGOs?

39. Èske w te gen chans rankontre yo? Did you have the opportunity to meet with

them?

40. (si wi) Kilè w te kwaze avèk yo pou premye fwa?

(if yes) When was the first time you met with

them?

41. Se kilès ki mennen w nan ONG sa a? Who put you in contact with this NGO?

42. Se kilès ki w te konn wè anndan ONG sa a?

Who did you meet with in this NGO?

43. Èske w te resevwa yon sipò nan men ONG sa a?

Did you receive support from this NGO?

44. Èske tout moun nan zòn nan jwenn? Did everyone in the area get support?

45. Sak esplike sa a? What explains this?

46. Ki denye fwa ou te wè yon aksyon What was the last time you saw a collective

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kolektif nan zòn nan? action in the area?

47. Dapre ou menm, èske aksyon sa yo efikas?

Do you think these actions are effective?

E. Enplikasyon moun nan aksyon sivik

48. Èske w fè pati yon asosyasyon oubyen yon òganizasyon?

Are you a member of an association or

organization?

49. (si wi) Ki asosyasyon? (if yes) What association?

50. Chak kilè asosyasyon an reyini? How often does the association meet?

51. Ki aksyon asosyasyon nan poze? What actions does this association take?

52. Èske asosyasyon an konn fè rasanbleman?

Does this association have general

meetings?

53. Èske asosyasyon an konn fè manifestasyon?

Does this association organize

demonstrations?

54. Ou menm, èske w patisipe nan yon manifestasyon?

Have you participated in a demonstration?

55. Poukisa (poukisa pa)? Why (why not)?

F. Pèsepsyon moun nan sou ONG ak lòt aktè

56. Kijan ou wè ONG yo? What do you think about NGOs?

57. Ban mwen twa mo ki nan tèt ou lè ou panse sou ONG.

Name three words you associate with NGOs.

58. Dapre ou menm, ki wòl ONG yo dwe jwe?

What do you think NGOs’ roles should be?

59. Èske se sa yo fè? Is this what they do?

60. Èske ONG yo pote solisyon pou zòn nan?

Do NGOs bring about solutions for this area?

61. Èske ONG yo dwe rete nan zòn nan? Should NGOs stay in the area?

62. Epi pou otorite lokal yo, kijan ou we yo? What do you think about the local authorities?

63. Ban mwen twa mo ki nan tèt ou lè ou panse sou otorite lokal yo?

Name three words you associate with the local

authorities.

64. Dapre ou menm, ki wòl otorite lokal yo dwe jwe?

What do you think the local authorities’ roles

should be?

65. Èske se sa yo fè? Is this what they do?

66. Epi pou leta, kijan ou we leta? What do you think about the state?

67. Ban mwen twa mo ki nan tèt ou lè ou panse sou leta?

Name three words you associate with the

state.

68. Dapre ou menm, ki wòl leta dwe jwe? What do you think the state’s roles should be?

69. Èske se sa li fè? Is this what it does?

70. Èske ayisyen konn fè tèt ansanm? Do Haitians get together / unite?

71. Èske w gen lespwa sou lavni a? Do you have hope for the future?

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Survey Questions – December 2016

Department: Commune

Communal Section/Neighborhood:

Date: Time: Last Name: First Name:

A. Lidè zòn nan

1. Se kijan ou fin konnen nouvèl? How do you get news?

2. Se kiyès wap tyeke pou konnen sak pase nan zòn nan?

Who do you seek out to find out what’s

happening in the area?

3. Depi gen yon pwoblèm nan zòn nan, se kiyès ki kapab rezoud li?

When there’s a problem in the area, who can

resolve it?

4. Dapre ou menm, ki pi gwo fòs oubyen kapasite zòn nan genyen?

What do you think the area’s biggest strengths

or capacities are?

5. Dapre ou menm, ki pi gwo bezwen nou nan zòn nan?

What do you think the three most pressing

needs in the area?

6. Ki bezwen ki pi priyorite pou zòn nan dapre w menm?

What do you think the area’s biggest priority

is?

7. Èske pwoblèm sa yo kapab rezoud? Can these problems be resolved?

8. Èske nou menm menm vwazen nou kapab rezoud pwoblèm sa yo?

Can you and your neighbors solve these

problem?

9. Ki aksyon nou menm konn poze apre Siklòn Matyè?

What actions have you engaged in after

Hurricane Matthew?

10. Dapre ou menm, èske aksyon sa yo efikas?

Do you think these actions are effective?

11. Èske asosyasyon lokal kapab rezoud pwoblèm sa yo?

Can local associations solve these problems?

12. Ki asosyasyon lokal yo? What local associations?

13. Ki aksyon asosyasyon lokal konn poze apre Siklòn Matyè?

What actions have local associations engaged

in after Hurricane Matthew?

14. Dapre ou menm, èske aksyon sa yo efikas?

Do you think these actions are effective?

15. Èske otorite lokal yo kapab rezoud pwoblèm sa yo?

Can the local authorities resolve these

problems?

16. Ki aksyon otorite lokal konn poze apre Siklòn Matyè?

What actions have local authorities engaged in

after Hurricane Matthew?

17. Dapre ou menm, èske aksyon sa yo efikas?

Do you think these actions are effective?

18. Èske leta kapab rezoud pwoblèm sa yo?

Can the state resolve these problems?

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19. Ki aksyon leta konn poze apre Siklòn Matyè?

What actions has the state engaged in after

Hurricane Matthew?

20. Dapre ou menm, èske aksyon sa yo efikas?

Do you think these actions are effective?

21. Èske ONG kapab rezoud pwoblèm sa yo?

Can NGOs resolve these problems?

22. Ki aksyon ONG konn poze apre Siklòn Matyè?

What actions have NGOs engaged in after

Hurricane Matthew?

23. Dapre ou menm, èske aksyon sa yo efikas?

Do you think these actions are effective?

AN. Relasyon moun nan avèk ONG

24. Èske w wè ONG ki tap vini apre Siklòn Matyè?

Do you see NGOs that came after Hurricane

Matthew?

25. (si wi) Ki ONG? (if yes) Which NGOs?

26. Ki èd ONG sa a te pote? What aid did this NGO bring?

27. Èske w te resevwa yon sipò nan men ONG sa a?

Did you receive support from this NGO?

28. Èske tout moun nan zòn nan jwenn? Did everyone in the area get support?

29. Èske ONG ki te la anvan Matyè toujou la?

Are the NGOs that were here before Matthew

still around?

30. (si wi) Ki ONG? (if yes) Which NGOs?

31. Ki èd ONG sa a te pote? What aid did this NGO bring?

32. Èske w te resevwa yon sipò nan men ONG sa a?

Did you receive support from this NGO?

33. Èske tout moun nan zòn nan jwenn? Did everyone in the area get support?

B. Pèsepsyon moun nan sou ONG ak lòt aktè

34. An gwo, kijan ou ta ka evalye repons apre Siklòn Matyè?

In general, how would you evaluate the

response after Hurricane Matthew?

35. Dapre w menm, kisa ki te bon? What do you think was good?

36. Dapre w menm, kisa ki merite chanje? What do you think needs to change?

37. Kijan w ta evalye travay ONG apre Siklòn Matyè?

How would you evaluate NGOs’ work after

hurricane Matthew?

38. Dapre w menm, kisa ONG yo ta sipoze fè?

What do you think NGOs should have done?

39. Èske se sa yo te fè? Is this what they did?

40. Epi pou otorite lokal yo, kijan ou ta evalye yo apre Siklòn Matyè?

How would you evaluate the local authorities’

work after hurricane Matthew?

41. Dapre ou menm, kisa otorite lokal ta sipoze dwe fè?

What do you think the local authorities should

have done?

42. Èske se sa yo te fè? Is this what they did?

43. Epi pou leta, kijan ou ta evalye leta apre How would you evaluate the local authorities’

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Siklòn Matyè? work after hurricane Matthew?

44. Dapre ou menm, kisa otorite lokal ta sipoze dwe fè?

Dapre ou menm, kisa otorite lokal ta sipoze

dwe fè?

45. Èske se sa li te fè? Is this what it did?

46. Èske ayisyen konn fè tèt ansanm? Do Haitians get together / unite?

47. Èske w gen lespwa sou lavni a? Do you have hope for the future?

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This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation

under CAREER Grant # 1455142 and RAPID Grant # 1722749. Any opinions, findings,

and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author

and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National

Science Foundation.

Translation by: Jessica Hsu